LOWELL - For the second straight year, a Middlesex League team proved to be kryptonite for a Super 8 squad as eighth-seeded Winchester stunned No. 1 Catholic Memorial, 4-2, yesterday at Tsongas Arena.
Michael Seward earned a hat trick, including two goals in the third period, in his first Super 8 game to lift his Sachems to victory. The contest was only Seward's second game back after dislocating the AC joint in his left shoulder.
"It was very painful," Seward said, referring to missing time on the ice, not his injured shoulder.
He was initially told he'd miss up to six weeks, which put a Super 8 return in jeopardy. But successful therapy got him back on the ice sooner.
"I wouldn't miss this," he said.
Catholic Memorial (10-5-4) struck early when Shane Walsh potted a wrister top shelf stickside at 1:10. But Winchester coach John Messuri was anything but discouraged by the quick hole.
"When they scored the goal, I told the bench, 'That's the best thing that could've happened to us,' " he said. "When you're a heavy favorite, like they are, and you score right away, it's hard to think that the other school's any good."
Winchester (16-4-1) quickly debunked that myth. The Sachems battered CM, but relied on a bit of luck for goal number one. From the side wall forward Kevin Carson threw the puck at the net and it deflected off a CM skate and into the goal.
In the second period, an off-the-puck penalty by CM allowed Winchester to retake the lead - and in quick fashion as Seward tucked the puck underneath the crossbar four seconds into the man advantage.
Frank Tierney answered back at 11:56 of the second during a power play, taking the feed from the point man and blasting a shot off Winchester goalie Mike Messuri's right pad.
The Knights peppered Messuri (33 saves), but the small-in-stature goaltender was big between the pipes.
"All I try to do is just give my team a chance to win," Messuri said.
Seward took that chance and ran with it. Seward picked the pocket of a CM player behind the net and spun around to beat Tommy Knox and put the Sachems up, 3-2.
Messuri knows what Knox felt. "Well, I have to deal with him in practice," he said. "He's my best friend. We just play together. I save the puck, he puts the puck in the net."
The Sachems survived CM's final push as Seward netted his third goal, an empty-netter with seven seconds remaining.
"I'd be disappointed if we came back in and said, 'Boy, we didn't have 15 real good opportunities to score a goal.' We did," said CM coach Bill Hanson. "The effort was there. The execution wasn't."
